New Delhi: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Congress over the disruption in Lok Sabha proceedings on February 4, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to deliver his reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, alleging that Congress women MPs created chaos inside the House.
Earlier in the day, Rijiju also shared a video that he claimed captured the sequence of events that unfolded during the proceedings.
Addressing reporters while referring to the video, Rijiju said, “BJP and NDA MPs are very angry and agitated because of the actions of Congress MPs after climbing the tables, and because women MPs of Congress crossed over to the Treasury benches, where we sit, even crossing past the seat of the Prime Minister, and went up to the second row.”
“So, the women BJP MPs were trying to come forward in anger, but we asked them to show restraint. We told all the women MPs that this behaviour of Congress is not right, but we should act with restraint and not get physical,” he continued.
He further asserted that the situation could have escalated if BJP MPs had reacted similarly.
“Just imagine, if we had let our BJP women MPs move forward, what would have happened? We have the greater numbers too. Our women MPs demanded permission to confront the five-six women Congress MPs who had come towards our Treasury Benches; however, we told them that this is against the parliamentary tradition and will go against its dignity,” Rijiju added.
This comes a day after the women MPs of the Congress party wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing strong objection to what they described as “grave allegations” that they had “threatened or attempted to obstruct” Prime Minister Modi inside the House on February 4. However, Congress dismissed the reports and said that the Prime Minister was “too scared to speak” in the House.
The video showed women MPs of Congress, holding banners and placards, surrounding the seat where the Prime Minister sits. Following this, the Prime Minister’s scheduled reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address was cancelled.
Continuing his criticism, Rijiju said, “Congress has no relation with the Parliamentary traditions and upholding its dignity. Above all, they are celebrating it on their social media handles, stating that their women MPs ‘scared’ the PM away. How shameful it is for the party to say that?… Our women MPs have raised the issue by writing to the Speaker.”
He further alleged that the protest was planned by Rahul Gandhi and Congress leadership, and they had “deliberately” sent women MPs forward with banners and planned to move towards the Prime Minister’s seat.
“We showed restraint and stopped our MPs. We always tell our MPs not to go down and not to engage in any scuffle with other MPs. But they were sending their MPs forward. The video that I shared today clearly shows how the Congress MPs came towards the PM’s seat. The entire Congress party and Rahul Gandhi should apologise for this,” he said.
Questioning the conduct of the Opposition, Rijiju stated, “How will the Parliament proceed by sending the parliamentarians forward for a free boxing? Is this how the Parliament will work? Does Congress have any rules? I never imagined that Congress would stoop so low.”
The controversy erupted after Speaker Birla stated that he had received information suggesting opposition MPs could do “something unexpected”, adding that he decided to adjourn the House to prevent unpleasant scenes in what he described as the temple of democracy.
According to the sequence of events, as the clock approached 5 p.m. on February 4, members were waiting for the Prime Minister to enter the Lok Sabha and begin his address.
However, protests continued inside the House, during which about eight to nine women MPs from the Opposition benches reportedly gathered around the Prime Minister’s designated seat. Among those named were Geniben Thakor, Varsha Gaikwad, Jyotimati, R. Sudha, K. Kavya and Shobha Bachhav. This can be seen in the video shared by Rijiju.
(IANS)
